Edge of the Abyss

With the Hochland expeditionary force success in clearing the Ratkin corruption around Hokh Man interior, they had achieved some respect, from the elves and the Green Lady, in their commitment to the defence of this world. The celebration of the success of the expeditionary force was cut short when. The general received word from the Elected Grand Baron that, a massive orc army from the Ironheads tribe was pushing closer to the wall intent of breaking it down. What was more disturbing was the fact that the Ratkin War Chief the general had fought had apparently allied themselves with the commanding Krudger of the Ironheads tribe. The War Chief did this clearly as an act of vengeance for denying him all of the crystals around Hokh Man Interior, and was intent on breaking down the wall too.

With Hochland in dire plight the Hochland army, was granted permission to return home, and stop this wicked alliance. With the Green Lady’s blessing and a promise of an elven army, waiting to support the Men of Hochland, the expeditionary force sailed home.

When they arrived safely at the port, the General met with the elven prince commanding the elven host, and clasped arms, recognizing in each other a kindred spirt, with an eagerness to defend the world from the evil of the abyss.

The Prince was also accompanied by envoys from the Elected Grand Baron, they came bearing gifts from the Elected Grand Baron for the General, in recognition of his deeds abroad and home. A mighty winged beast raven black and with fierce presence, this was indeed a worthy gift for an accomplished General.

Mounted atop his winged beast and with the elven army marching alongside his battle hardened troops, the General marched straight for the wall, where the combined Ratkin and Orc army were laying siege to the wall.

With the alliance of men and elves they had the strength of arms, to sally out and break the siege, ending the threat to the kingdoms of men once and for all in this war.

For Mantica!

This was an alliance battle, with 2 people on each side, with 1500 points from each player. With each person linked up with only one person, from the other side for the writing of the battle report and recording stats and so on. With the nature of this huge battle and we being under a little time constraint the report will not be as detailed as my last reports. I do hope you will still enjoy the result of this very fun battle.

Now let’s deploy the forces

The good forces deployed both of their hordes in the middle with the intent of holding the center strong, with the Kingdoms of men army favored the right flank and the elves with a few supporting human troops held the left flank.
The evil army had the same strategy, with both hordes in the middle, and the Ratkin facing the Kingdoms of men with orc giant support, and the orcs facing the elves.

Turn 1 – Good
The good alliance advanced forward eager to defend their realm against the evil horde.

Most of units from the good army moved forward to better contest field from the evil horde, with only the bowmen, beast of war and warmachines staying behind to shoot.

The Mortar and beast of war missed its shot on the giant, the elven bolt thrower did better and hit it’s mark but did minimal damage, not wavering the giant. The sea guard horde shot at the orclings but only getting a few hits and a couple of wounds, not wavering the orclings. The bowmen were out of range but were ready for next round.

Turn 1 – Evil
With a mighty Battlecry and a high pitched squeak, the evil army move to engage the defenders.

The evil army and especially the orcs are eager to get into combat range and move as far ahead as they possibly can. The rats being slightly more cautious and more eager to shoot, hold back a little compared to the orcs.

The death engine opens fire on the too eager militia mob troop and routs them, the Ratkin artillery spy the human general and do 3 wounds on him but the General keeps his calm. The scurries do minimal damage to the knights and they ignore it and press forward.

Turn 2 – Good
With worry the Generals spots the giant lumbering towards his battle line, knowing this battle will require sacrifice and steady nerves from his men and himself.

The good army knowing they have the advantage in shooting decides to hold back a little, to whittle down the approaching hordes. Only the knights charge the spear regiment hoping to break them, with the rest of the army holding or advancing slightly.

The beast of war missed the scurries in front of the giant, the mortar missed the brutes regiment, and the bowmen missing the greatax troop. The wizard did bane chant the knights though.
The elves had more luck with the sea guard doing some damage to the great ax troop in front of the morax regiment, and wavered them. The prince with his amulet hit the other greatax troop but only did minimal damage and the orcs were steady. The bolt thrower did a little more damage to the orclings but they were also steady.

The knights got a respectable charge on the spear regiment and with bane chant doing good damage on them, and routed the rats. The knights pulled back into the forest making it more difficult to charge them.

Turn 2 – Evil
The Ratkin surge ahead to get to the human defenders, with cruelty and vengeance in their heart.

The orcs still move forward in their eagerness to engage the elves, with the gore riders hoping to achieve the same thing, as their human counterparts and charge into the kindred spear regiment. The warrior horde charge the shield wall horde, the blight regiment charging the shield wall troop while the brutes regiment charge the foot guard regiment. The giant charge the knights in the forest foiling the human generals with strider. The assassins fly forward to shoot the wizard and the death engine moving forward to do the same.

The death engine miss the wizard completely, and the assassin only do minimal damage, and the wizard is steady. The scurries do nothing to the general, and the artillery do minimal damage to the storm wind cavalry. The weapon team shoots at the army standard, but also do minimal damage and he holds his ground.

The brutes do average damage on the foot guard but they hold the line. The giant fails to do a lasting impact only getting 3 wounds on the knights. His brutal display do waver the knights barely. The blight is unable to do good damage on the shield wall troop, and only waver them. The gore riders do not have the same impact, as the human knights and the kindred spears hold the line. The horde do average damage to the shield wall horde and don't waver them.

Turn 3 – Good
The humans charged the ratkins intent on breaking them, the elves were more precise in their counter charges.

The good army counter charged were they were able to, the knights headstrong kicked in and they counter charged the giant, with the foot guard taking on the brutes, and shield wall countercharging warrior horde, and the kindred spears counter charging the gore riders. The General and the beast of war combined charge the scurries, while the palace guard did a cheeky charge on the Krudger. The palace guard troop flank charged the orclings horde. The militia mob troop moved into a blocking position for the knights and other palace guard regiment.

The elf mage and human wizard both shot at the flying rodent, and the assassin was lit up by a mix of fireball and lightning bolt, roasting the rat. The mortar continued missing, while the bowmen and prince with arrow fire and breath attack shot at greatax troop in the ruins, doing average damage but the orcs were steady, the bolt thrower hit the death engine and did 3 damage to it, while the sea guard shot at the spear rat regiment behind the horde. They did a good amount of damage and wavered the rats.

The foot guard routed the brutes with the help of fire oil damage, and the general and beast of war destroyed the scurries. The knights managed a fair number of damage on the giant, but the giant were steady. The shield wall horde did a respectable attack, on the warrior horde, but with so much rallying around they stayed in the fight. The palace guard troop destroyed the orclings and reformed to better block the ax horde. The kindred spear regiment got a decent amount of damage done to the gore riders but they held the line, the palace guard regiment got some good damage on the Krudger, but he were also steady.

Turn 3 – Evil
The Orcs were within reach of the elves finally, so the orcs did a mighty warcry and charged.

There were plenty of counter charges again as the line met in close quarters. The giant did a combined charge with the shock troops on the knights. While the blight regiment charged the shield wall troop again. The warrior horde went back at the shield wall horde, the ax horde charged palace guard troop. And trolls charged the militia mob troop. A great ax troop flank charged the palace regiment fighting the krudger, and the krudger charged the palace guard too. The gore riders counter charged the kindred spears. The war chief charged the army standard.

The weapon team shot and damaged the foot guard regiment, wavering them. The artillery missed the storm wind cavalry. The death engine routed the Mortar

The giant and shock troops routed the knights thanks to the massive damage from the giant. While the blight regiment routed the shield wall troop. The war chief did minimal damage to the army standard bearer, and he was steady. The warrior horde did some average damage on the shield wall troop but they held the line.
The ax horde did an below average attack on the palace guard troop, but the unit held the line on double one. The trolls smashed the milita mob troop and routed them. while the flanking Krudger and greatax troop routed the palace guard unit. The gore riders also punched through the kindred spears and routed them too.

After the combat phase

Turn 4 – Good
His elite units were either panicked or routed, the General knew he had to kill the giant now and pressure the rats even more. He just hoped the prince was doing better on his flank.
With the final units about to clash into the slaughter in the center, the combat began in earnest.

The beast of war charged the giant, while the general flew over the shock troops to get the blight regiment in the flank. The shield wall horde counter charged the warrior horde again, while the stubborn palace guard regiment counter charged the ax horde. The storm wind cavalry did a combined charge with the palace guard regiment on the trolls. The bowmen rated their chances higher against the great ax troop’s flank than the gore riders and charged it. The prince held back hoping his magic breath attack would help him better against the Krudger. The army standard moved out of the way from the war chief so the wizard could get him with spells, while the pole block troop reformed for next turn.

The bolt thrower managed to damage the death engine a little, while the mage’s lightning bolt did minimal damage to the war chief and the wizard’s fireball, damaged the weapon team a little. Only the weapon team wavered though. The prince breath attack failed to do an impact on the krudger, while the seaguard unit routed a greatax troop with their bowfire.

The Beast of war did a solid hit to the giant and routed the big guy. The general also did solid damage and routed the blight regiment, he reformed to threaten the death engine and shock troops rear. The shield wall horde did a little below average damage, to the warrior horde but they held the line. The palace guard troop did average damage to the ax horde, and they also held the line. The palace guard regiment and storm wind cavalry failed in a spectacular way, to do an impact on the trolls only managing 6 wounds. This off course did not bother the trolls and they were steady. The bowmen’s charge were also very poor only wounding the greatax troop one time, but it was enough to rout them. They reformed so they were out of sight of the gore riders.

Turn 4 – Evil
The combat was brutal and bloody, the orcs were loving it! – The ratkin were not enjoying it to the same extent though.

A lot of charging again, The death engine flank charged the foot guard in the hope of breaking them and reforming to face the general. The shock troops charged the beast of war, hoping to do enough to waver it. The warrior horde charged the shield wall again, while the ax horde was intent on removing the palace guard troop from the field. The krudger charged the elven prince, while the trolls and Morax regiment charged the storm wind cavalry and palace guard respectively. The war chief charged the elven mage annoyed at her lightning bolts.

There were no shooting at all this turn for the evil army.

The shock troops did minimal damage to the beast of war, while the death engine lived up to its name and killed the foot guard. It reformed to face the general ready for his charge. The warrior horde finally got the shield wall wavered, while the ax horde destroyed the palace troop and advanced straight up to the sea guard, the orcs intent very clear.
The Morax regiment did twelve damage on the palace guard regiment but a very low nerve roll combined with a magic item, saw the palace guard steady in the face of this attack. The trolls did a below average attack and the storm wind were also steady. The Krudger had trouble hitting the elf and only did a single wound, which the prince shrugged off. The war chief failed to do much and only caused a single wound. on the mage which she held her nerve against.

Turn 5 – Good
Seeing his need to break the Ratkin death engine, he guided his winged beast towards the Ratkin machinery.

The continued grind of combat continued, the Shield wall recovered from wavered thanks to some dwarf ale, they were gifted in Hokh Man. They counter charged the warrior horde again with drunken vigour. The beast of war countered the shock troops, while the general charged the death engine. The pole block troop charged the war chief while the wizard and mage moved out of the way. The sea guard set aside their bows and charged the ax horde, while the palace guard regiment counter charged the Morax regiment. The storm wind cavalry countered the Trolls, while the prince and the bowmen combined charged the Krudger.

The Wizard threw a fireball at the weapon team again, but did minimal damage and they were steady this time. The bolt thrower did minimal damage to the gore riders and they were also steady.

The shield walls drunken courage payed off a they routed the warrior horde, the pole block troop did minimal damage to the war chief, and he were steady. The beast of war had a poor charge with only 2 hits and 2 wounds, and the shock troops held their ground. The general did the opposite and hit with all his attacks and did 5 wounds, destroying the death engine with his mighty winged beast. The sea guard was clearly better archers than fighters and had trouble with the ax horde, doing little damage and did not break the orcs.
The palace guard and storm wind cavalry also had trouble with their foes, doing minimal below average damage to both units. The prince and bowmen managed to rout the orc Krudger, with the bowmen making an impressive overrun while the prince did not, leaving him open to the gore riders. No doubt the orc Krudger slowed him down in a death grip.

Turn 5 – evil
The orcs sensed their chance to end the elves and charged into them with savagery.

The gore riders charged the elven prince with great glee while the, trolls and Morax smashed into their foes again. The ax horde counter charged the sea guard unit, a rat spear regiment charged the general out of desperation hoping to do something. While the war chief, counter charged the pole block troop, and the enforcer and weapon team ran down to the war chief to have some sort of safety. The shock troops counter charged the beast of war, hoping to stop it.

The Ratkin artillery missed the shield wall troop, while the weapon team did a little damage on them but they passed their nerve.

The Gore riders routed the poor elf prince brutally, with the trolls making up for last time by getting an excellent hit 11 wounds on the elven cavalry and routed them. The Crystal Pendant of Retribution did some damage on the victorious trolls. The Morax regiment added another 10 wounds on the palace guard regiment, but to the orcs surprise (well everyone’s) they held their ground with a roll of double ones! Stopping the orcs advance there, the palace guard were bloodied and bruised but were blessed with an iron will.

The ax horde did an impressive amount of wounds on the seaguard and the elves barely held the line. The war chief managed to waver the pole block troop, The spear rat regiment had trouble with the general and only did minimal damage and did not rout him, The shock troops also added minimal damage to the beast of war, not breaking it either.

Turn 6 – Good
With a determined battle cry from the alliance of men and elves, they push forward and push the alliance of evil back!

Elves and men attack where ever they can intent on destroying any evil units or push over into their side of the board. The beast of war countercharge, the shock troops, while the general countercharge the spear rats. The shield wall horde flank charges the ax horde, while the sea guard horde attacks the front. The palace guard attack the Morax regiment, while the bowmen run away from the gore riders to shoot at them. The army standard charges the war chief in a desperate measure to end him.

The Elven mage shoots her lightning bolt into the trolls and routs them thanks to the crystal pendant of retribution, from the storm wind cavalry, while the wizard fireball the weapon team again but routs them this time. The bolt thrower damages the gore riders and wavers them.

The beast of war do a better job this time against the shock troops and routs them, and overruns across the board. The general fails to hit any rats, clearly tired from all the combat. The shield wall and sea guard hordes routs the ax hordes with plenty of damage. While the army standard hits and wounds the war chief, wavering the war chief. The palace guard strike back at the morax regiment and manage to rout them even with inspiring from the orc flagger. They are clearly too exhausted to go on and don’t overrun very far.

Turn 6 – Evil
With the alliance of men and elves having beaten back the Orcs and Ratkin, the army of evil try to limit the their loss

The gore riders spy the flank of the elven palace guard unit and attacks, while the enforcer do a sneaky charge into the shield wall, the spear rats charge the general again emboldened by his failure to rout them. While the orc flagger charge the sea guard horde.

The artillery misses its target and ends the last shooting phase.

The gore riders destroy the brave elven palace guard unit, while the flagger fails to hit the sea guard unit. The enforcer gets a single wound on the shield wall but they hold their ground with very inspiring from the army standard. The spear rats fail to harm the mighty winged beast and general and thus ends the final battle!